Firewood (Symbol)
The firewood Ree chops at the beginning of the novel is a symbol for her survivalist instinct. Having detected the scent of coming flurries on the air, Ree assesses the paltry pile of firewood outside her family home and reasons that she will have to secure more to keep her brothers and mother warm. Ree's determination to chop and stack an adequate supply of fuel for the winter conveys to the reader that she will have the drive and grit needed to uncover the mystery of her missing father and thereby protect her family from becoming homeless.
Drying Deer Meat (Symbol)
The hanging deer meat Ree smells wafting on the air from her neighbor's property is a symbol of abundance—particularly the abundance Ree's family lacks. With almost no food left in the house, Ree and her brother look upon the venison in the Miltons' yard with a desiring hunger. With their father gone and Ree busy taking care of everyone else, they do not have the time or resources needed to hunt their own deer. When Ree's brother suggests they ask for some of the Miltons' venison, Ree insists they should "never ask for what ought to be offered." With this statement, Ree imparts a lesson on the etiquette of their milieu: anyone fortunate enough to have more than their neighbors is obliged to share their abundance.
Mamaw's Coat (Symbol)
The overcoat Ree wears symbolizes the responsibility she takes on following her father's disappearance and her mother's mental illness. When Ree is chopping wood to ensure her family stays warm with the coming weather, Woodrell writes that her overcoat is "an implacable black and had been Mamaw’s, grim old wool battered by decades of howling winter and summer moths." That Ree's coat was once her grandmother's highlights the fact that her house-bound mother has lost her capacity to carry out the duties of a responsible parent. With Jessup gone, the sixteen-year-old Ree must assume the parental mantle and become a responsible adult.
Snow (Motif)
From the outset of the novel, winter weather casts a gloomy, ominous atmosphere over Ree's environment. In the first chapter, the coming snowfall she detects in the air is unwelcome because it means she will have to work harder to keep her mother and brothers warm and provided for. The chill immediately makes her brothers come down with colds; it also affects Ree's health when she sets out on foot to track down her father. The motif resolves at the end of the novel when the snow presents its greatest challenge to Ree: Standing before her father's corpse, Ree must hack through a layer of ice to confirm his identity. Merab also makes her cut off his frozen hands so she can prove his death to the police, a horrific action that results in Ree falling into the same chilly pond water. In every instance, Woodrell uses the motif of winter weather to amplify the misery of Ree's predicament.
Teardrop's Missing Ear (Symbol)
When introducing Ree's uncle Teardrop to the reader, Woodrell emphasizes the fear he strikes into his niece. A major factor in Teardrop's intimidating presence is the large burn that runs down the left side of his head—the result of a meth lab accident that melted off one of his ears. Beyond disturbing those around him, Teardrop's missing ear is significant because it is a visual symbol of his status as a career criminal. Like all Dolly men, Teardrop wound up in the illicit drug trade because of social and economic factors beyond his control, and he has little hope of becoming anything other than a crank cook and dealer. His melted ear is a physical branding that signals to everyone else the world he belongs to, making the prospect of leaving the criminal underclass even less possible.
